Flicka: Growing Up In Wyoming with Horses and Epiphanies

In Flicka, a coming of age film, more than just the young heroine are primed to come of age and realize truths about life, love and living. Her father and older brother are fair candidates for coming of age epiphanies, themselves. The mother is pretty much there already.

While these humans in Flicka are fumbling about and misstepping in their dance with wisdom, the heroine has an encounter with a free-roaming American Mustang mare (and another creature, incidentally). In this encounter, the Mustang shows her superiority and wins over the heroine's affections and trust. This is problematic because the credo, as her father tells us, of the Western quarter horse ranch is that Mustangs are parasites which strip grazing lands and contaminate purebred herds.

Through this storyline, based as it is on the popular children's story My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara, director Michael Mayer, directing his second-ever film, makes very important and significant social comments about family reconciliation and the current situation of American Mustangs, which, in 1971, were protected by Congress and became eligible for adoption by private individuals: Though by 1970 the American Mustang, the remnants of raided 17th century Spanish Conquistador mounts, was becoming extinct, there are now 41,000 running free and awaiting adoption into nice barns.

The young star, Alison Lohman, is one of the very good things about Flicka. She is not only winsomely beautiful, with Dianna Durbin eyes, she has sharp intelligence which shows on screen. Her portrayal of her character, in this socially relevant story, is a convincing mix of reticence, temper, tantrum, sheer guts and determination, and love. Her most important co-star, the horse (with my apologies to Ryan Kwanten, playing her brother in his first prominent movie role), is almost a mirror-image of herself, as far as these traits go, and a good runner. The beautiful location sports an extra touch of beauty with Katy and Flicka running across its green expanses.

The things that don't work in Flicka are unfortunately in primary categories, those of directing and screenplay writing. Mayer drew heavily on Dreamer in filming Flicka. But Mayer's salute to Dreamer only adds to the major weaknesses and makes them worse. In the first third of the movie, we see so many shots of Katy's elbow as she leans her head in her hand that I began comparing the fabrics of the shirts she wore. This elbow-leaning-head-resting motif is alternated with shots of her sleeping: sleeping in the truck; sleeping in her bed; sleeping by the paddock; sleeping in the back of the truck in an uncomfortable position. Granted, she is beautiful and has a China Doll aspect of perfected delicacy, but is it absolutely necessary that we see her that often in the beauty of repose?

After this (as yet) unfathomable beginning for Flicka (what precisely is the reason behind the leaning-sleeping-dreamy thing?), Mayer does get astride his saddle and ride through more appealing directorial territory as the adventures and misadventures start bolting out before us.

As for the screenplay of Flicka, written by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, I'm afraid they raise more questions than they have time or skill to answer. There is a mountain lion which we meet early on, whatever happens to it? There is some debate about traitors who sell ranch land. Whatever happens to the ranch? And criminal charges hang in the air. What becomes of that? It is, admittedly, good writing technique to have unaddressed points in films, if they are wrapped in an abundance of clues, like in Pelican Brief and Oceans Twelve. Subtle allusions make for good after-movie conversation. But Rosenthal and Konner know this already : They collaborated on Mona Lisa Smile and the upcoming Eragon. Unfortunately, they missed the mark this time with Flicka.

Even though I liked this film as a whole, the acting in Flicka sometimes only comes close to being convincing (especially the dad (Tim McGraw) who seems to have a hard time mixing his distanced persona with his true loving nature; we never quite see the man his wife sees in him). And I can't forget the distractions caused by the directing and writing. Although, I must say the mother (Maria Bello) was a surprising breath of fresh air in places that may not have worked as well as they did without her.

I rate Flicka a pleasantly entertaining 3 1/2 Stars with a general well done - in most regards - particularly the family reconciliation theme and wild American Mustang commentary.